


Coming Home

by EricaEntertainsIdeas



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:39:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26825278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EricaEntertainsIdeas/pseuds/EricaEntertainsIdeas
Summary: Katniss has returned from the 74th Hunger Games. She is slowly getting used to being in District 12 again. Even though she was gone for barely two weeks, it has shaken her mind irreparably. Gale and Peeta help.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Gale Hawthorne
Kudos: 14





	Coming Home

“Prim,” Katniss whispers as she grabs hold of her sister, having just stepped off the train at District 12. 

“Katniss,” Prim answers. There are tears in her eyes and they fall onto her dress. The same dress she was wearing two weeks ago. 

Katniss and her mother share a brief hug. Gale is waiting behind her. She pulls him in and tears pour out of her. “I didn’t think I would see you again,” Katniss says into his shoulder. 

“I’m glad you made it out.” 

Twenty feet from them, Peeta is reuniting with his family. His parents are in shock and his mother holds his face like she doesn’t quite believe he’s there. 

They are still on display, crowds across the districts viewing their intimate moments. Katniss tries not to look directly at the Capitol camera crew. She wipes her eyes and strides over to Peeta. Hugging him tightly and telling him, “I’ll see you later,” loudly enough that the cameras can hear. 

She walks back to her family and takes Prim’s hand and they walk back to the house in silence. She is a killer, but she is alive. The air is different now. She wonders how they view her. They knew she had to do it to live, but her mind is blaring a steady steam of “You’re a killer.” 

She focuses on her breath. In and out. That was how she and Peeta got through the last few nights in the Capitol and on the train ride back. 

When they reach the house, Katniss hugs Gale again and asks him to meet her at 5am the next morning in the forest. “When the cameras have gone,” she breathes into his shoulder. 

The night passes by so slowly, Prim bundled in her arms and her mother’s bed dragged next to theirs. Katniss has brought them fresh goods from the train car that they ate for dinner. She imagines they sleep well with full bellies for the first time in a long time. She lies awake, breathing in and out until sleep takes her. 

At the first signs of light, she leaves them a note saying she’s gone out, shrugs on her father’s jacket, and walks out to the gate. 

Gale is already there, waiting for her on the other side. Stuffed in his jacket is a rolled-up blanket, peaking out near his collar. He zips his jacket down slightly to show her, smiling at her like he has hundreds of times before. Despite everything running through her head, she gives him the barest of smiles and her eyes hold relief. They are doing something so familiar she has to hold back tears. She ducks under the gate and they walk into the forest. They grab their hidden bows. When they’re out of view from the gate, she grabs his hand. She doesn’t look at him, but his warm hand brings her happiness. 

Gale is unsure what to make of it. He understands that Peeta and Katniss may have just been playing a game, but doubt has crept deep into his mind in the past couple of weeks. She is not the same Katniss from before, she is grieving and afraid and sad, but he loves her and will hold her through all of it if she lets him. 

When they arrive at a creek, Gale’s planned destination, the sun has fully risen. He lays the blanket down on rocks at the edge of the water and they sit close together. They had to let their hands go as they sat and Katniss doesn’t take his hand again. Instead, she turns to him, wraps her arms tightly around him and breathes in his scent. She reminds herself that he is alive and her family is alive and she is alive. He can only hold her just as tightly. They stay like that for minutes that feel like hours.

Katniss ends the hug but leans into his shoulder. They stay like that until Katniss can no longer contain her thoughts. Speaking, she startles him slightly.

“I killed someone,” she cannot look at him as she says this. “I killed two people, technically, although I put one out of their misery. That’s two people these hands killed. If I look back at the footage, I know I aided in killing more.” 

“They made you do it,” Gale says, no judgment in his voice. He is simply stating a fact she already knows but needs to hear. She knows no one will ask her about it. No one has been a victor in District 12 in a long time but the people are no stranger to the grief of the Hunger Games and will not to attempt to pester her with questions about her victory like the people of District 2 would. With her wealth and power now, she is more of a pariah anyways. These people who knew her, knew her father, know her mother and sister, they will interact with her but it will never be the same. She has waited all night to know what Gale thinks of her. 

“I know,” she says. “I know they made me do it, but maybe I should’ve taken those berries anyways.” Her face crumples and she is crying again. He hugs her tightly and brushes her hair back from her face when the crying has slowed. He pulls out a cloth from her bag and wipes her eyes. She takes it from him and blows her nose. She pulls her knees up her to face and clutches them, eyes staring at the water. Gale moves closer to her so he can pull her back into his chest. He wraps his arms around her knees as well and holds her hand. 

“I’m glad you didn’t take the berries,” he says. His chin is on her neck and he kisses her shoulder lightly. “I don’t know what I would do without you.” 

By 8am they are crossing back under the gate. Gale needs to get his brothers ready for school and go into town to sell the squirrel he brings back from a trap he had set earlier in the week. They don’t talk about Peeta, but once they cross the gate, they drop their hands. On some level, Gale knows that she is just keeping up appearances, but his heart hurts anyways when she turns towards her house with only a brief hug goodbye. 

At home, Prim and her mother are up. They are packing their things, readying for the move to the Victor’s Circle. They don’t talk about how weird it is to just pack up their lives and leave their home all because she didn’t die in the last two weeks. The houses are supposed to be beautiful though, and she hopes it brings her mother and Prim some peace. Even Buttercup comes with them. Lucky cat.

In the late afternoon, she visits Peeta. She did say she would. She knocks on his door and his mother answers. Upon seeing Katniss, she hugs her tightly without a word and motions her to go into the next room. Peeta is staring out the window. The way they were on the train, but the scenery doesn’t change. They live close to the center of town, next to their bakery, and he is staring out at the mostly empty courtyard. Electricity is a luxury few wastes and so most of the work in District 12 is done in the daylight. She sits down next to him, unsure of what to say. 

What do you say to someone who saved your life? What do you say to someone so smart and clever that you both got to walk away from the Hunger Games? She knows how much having him by her side kept her going in the games. She owes him everything and yet, the spark is not there. They are strangers but they know each other so well. She turns to stare out the window too. They stay like that for a while.

Peeta breaks the silence. 

“Thank you for coming, Katniss.” He hesitates before saying the next words with pain in his voice. “But I know it was an act. We lived, and we’re a story to them now, they will want us to be together in public, but I know you don’t love me.” He takes a deep breath and sighs. “I’ve watched you for a long time, I know where your heart lies. I don’t know how to make it better between us, but I don’t know how I can go through this alone either.”

She looks at him and finds that he is already looking at her. She doesn’t know what else there is to say except, “I don’t want to go through this alone either.” After a moment, she adds, “And, I’m sorry.” There is so much guilt in her voice but very little sorrow. 

“It’s okay,” he says, still looking at her. 

“It’s not.” 

“It’s not.” They laugh just the tiniest bit, and she grabs his hand. She cannot comfort him as a lover, but they will be forever tied and she has so much respect and love for him that she can’t help but need to be there for him. They will be there for each other. 

They sit in silence, hands gripped together so tightly their knuckles are white, until dusk. 

Katniss leaves Peeta with a strong hug at his door and returns to her house in time for supper. She’ll need to go hunting tomorrow and catch something for them to eat. It’s the first normal thought she’s had in hours. 

The next day, Effie greets her at her door at midday. The preparations of their Victor’s home are finished and she brings along two burly men from the Capitol to move everything. Katniss hates that anyone from the Capitol is still in District 12, but she supposes Effie is bearable. Her presence makes Katniss feel slightly less crazy like she didn’t make up being in the Hunger Games. The strange life of the Capitol feels like a fever dream and a horrible nightmare of greed and gluttony all at once. 

Their life is moved in less than two hours and the women are left wandering around the opulence. Effie is used to the fancy wood trim and two living rooms (one for company and one for every day, as she explains), but Katniss is glad the house has come with furniture because she wouldn’t know what to do with so much space. Effie leaves shortly after, giving Katniss a genuine smile on the way out. Katniss guesses she’s headed back to the train station but then sees her knock on Haymitch’s door. Effie waits a moment, then sighs and lets herself in. It’s nice to know that she cares. 

Gale and his family show up at dusk. His mother gives Katniss a warm hug and a smile and says, “It’s hard to celebrate, but we should try.” Rory and Vick both give her crushing hugs, slightly strange but not unwelcome. They are still so little to her even though their heads reach chest height. Posy runs in behind them and Katniss crouches to pick her up as she jumps into her arms for a hug. She realizes that maybe more people were worried about her than she thought. Gale gives her a half hug, his arms holding a tray with prepared deer, and moves into the house with everyone else to greet Prim and her mother. 

Within a couple hours, Katniss is tired, but so warm, too. She is smiling as they tell funny stories and ask Katniss about the Capitol. They are all pointedly avoiding talking about the games and she is glad that they are trying their best to distract her. She has barely thought about the games the entire time, trying to be present and enjoy being wrapped up in their love. At one point, she needs a break and excuses herself to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Gale comes with her and hugs her as the kettle boils. 

His smile is warm and his chest is soft and she embraces this moment wholeheartedly and wants to stay in it forever. He kisses her forehead and leans back. “I love you,” he says, looking into her eyes. There is no pity in them for her. He knows she is strong and loves her for everything she is and despite everything she has done in the games. Katniss pulls him into another hug and mumbles, “I love you, too,” into his chest as the kettle starts to whistle. 

They join the group again and a half hour later they say their goodbyes. The day has been long and they are all ready for bed but her head is clear. She sleeps in the same bed as Prim again that night, and she knows the nightmares will come to her, but she is glad she is alive. She was worried she wouldn’t want to be, after the games, but she has these moments to look forward to. She decides not to worry about the Capitol for once and falls asleep thinking of Peeta’s hug and Gale’s smile. She is so grateful to have them both in her life. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I just rewatched all four Hunger Games movies and my brain would not let me rest until I wrote at least one fic. I forgot how much I loved the books and movies. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
